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Puget Sound Real Estate Blog

Local information, news and market reports for the Seattle, Bellevue, Mercer Island and Kirkland real estate market. If you feel you have an event or information you would like to share, please leave your information below and we will review it and get back to you.

Predictions state the Seattle will have the fastest rising rents in the nation in 2017. According to a recent Zillow forecast, rents for apartment buildings are rising faster in Seattle than anywhere else in the country. According to predictions, this is set to continue throughout the next 12 months.

A new development is currently underway by University Village called U Place at Union Bay. This is a mixed-use condominium project comprised of small studio condominium units, a food court and restaurants on the first floor. This meets the need for first-time homebuyers in the Seattle area as many are being priced right out of the city. A Chinese development company is meeting that need with a six-story project called U Place at Union Bay. ZQH Investment has just recently broken ground on the project at 4603 Union Bay Pl. NE. The development is between the University District mall and the Burke Gilman trail.

WeWork, the global company which provides shared workspace and community for entrepreneurs and small businesses, has recently confirmed opening a large facility in Lincoln Square, Bellevue’s office high-rise.

Homes in 98105 usually sell within 21 days, which is 15 days faster than King County’s average and 9 days faster than the Seattle Metro average. The median price is $1,015,898, which is 243 percent higher than the Greater Seattle median price.

British Columbia is considering adding a 15% real estate tax on the sale of all Vancouver area homes to foreign nationals and those purchasing from overseas. This naturally forces foreign buyers to look elsewhere and Seattle is the closest major city to Vancouver BC.

Seattle’s South Lake Union district is already busting at the seams with major headquarters and satellite sites from Amazon, Expedia, and Facebook, but now, Facebook is looking at even more office space in the Seattle area.

The good news in the Puget Sound real estate market is that buyers now have more homes and condominiums to choose from however the bad news is they may be competing against more buyers. Prices are continuing to climb which is surprising since we are seeing more homes on the Seattle market, however, with more buyers comes more competition thus keeping the price is relatively high. In August for 2016, the median sales price of property in Seattle increased between 9% and 13% in both Snohomish and Pierce County. King and Kitsap County saw jumps of 11% and 12%. In July those increases were up to 15%.

The U.S. News & World Report recently came out with the rankings of the top high schools in the country and the Puget Sound had 19 on this last. Schools are ranked based on how well he prepare students for college and how academically students do on tests. The Puget Sound area high schools are helping to prepare for the region’s workforce and tens of thousands of new jobs created each year. The Puget Sound area is booming with new tech industry opportunities every year including the expansion of Expedia, Amazon, and other Seattle-based industries.

Even though we are about 7 years away from its launch, the East Link Rail Service is already drawing major companies to the Bellevue area. Most companies are well aware of the projected addition according to Bellevue’s Economic Development Director James Henderson. These companies are not only well aware but want to be close to the stations.

As with any major Metropolitan city, there will be pockets of neighborhoods, communities and unique districts in and around the city itself. Seattle is no exception. From the eclectic and whimsical neighborhoods north of Seattle such as Ballard and Wallingford to the industrial communities in Rainier and Georgetown, there’s something for everyone in the wide variety that is Seattle neighborhoods.

China’s largest home developer recently invested in a 43 story residential tower that is proposed near the Seattle space needle. Located at 600 Wall St. in downtown Seattle, the California-based company Laconia Development proposed to deal with the China Vanke Co. on Seattle’s proposed apartment high-rise.

Lack of supply is causing prices to rapidly increase. Because of this, soaring prices are making it hard for buyers to find and purchase a house. Bidding wars are becoming the norm again as we once saw in 2004 and 2005. In Kitsap County, across the Puget Sound, home prices rose 16% in March, 13% in Snohomish County and 8% in Pierce, however that still doesn’t compare to King County’s nearly 21% increase from March 2015 to March 2016.

Hot real estate market, hot for buyers and renters and up and coming on job growth and entertainment, Seattle Magazine recently announced the 9 hottest neighborhoods in Seattle for 2016.
Let’s take a look at each one of these and why they made the list and how you can be a part of these growing and thriving neighborhoods.

Promenade 23, a luxury property in Seattle’s Central District, was recently acquired by Vulcan Real Estate for further development. Purchased for $30.9 million, this high-profile complex on the east side of 23rd Ave South in Seattle will be rezoned and redeveloped into a residential and retail project. Currently, the area is divided into two lots, one of which is home to a Red Apple Market. The new project will offer two mid-rise buildings housing over 570 apartments set to begin construction in 2017.

Construction is already underway in Issaquah on a more than $15 million single-family home development. Jazz Run, is the newest development on Seattle’s Eastside, hopefully easing the strain for the low inventory throughout the Puget Sound region. This 19 home development is located at 23121 SE. 48th St. and is just one of several housing projects in development. These homes will feature four bedroom layouts priced in the $800,000 range.

According to a new report in the Seattle business Journal, Seattle homebuyers could break even on a home purchase in less than two years. According to the “Breakeven Horizon”, a study published by the Seattle online real estate company Zillow, homebuyers could break even on a home purchase in less than two years in over 70% of housing markets across the country.

The old Haggen store located next to the Crossroads shopping center will be the site of a new 176 residential home development, called the Crossroads Village. The lack of new homes and developments is especially prominent on Seattle’s Eastside neighborhood in cities like Bellevue and Kirkland. Just recently, the city of Bellevue approved the design of a new 176 unit townhome project as well as a new retail division located at 15751 NE. 15th St.

The coming year will be very similar to the previous one, and that’s a good thing. Economists from Russell investments, Zillow Group and Community Attributes Inc. spoke at the annual Economic Development Council of Seattle and King County’s Economic Forecast event on January 14 and predicted a continuation of the steady growth in the region experienced in 2015.

According to Zillow, one of the nations largest real estate analysts, Seattle homeowners should be prepared for a jump in their home values this year. With so many tech employees jumping ship in Silicon Valley, primarily dues to new satellite buildings and companies popping up in Seattle and the lower cost of living in Seattle, home prices are near record highs.

Zillow recently announced that Seattle made the top ten list of hottest real estate markets in 2016. Denver topped the list followed by Seattle, Dallas, Richmond VA, Boise, Ogden, UT, Salt Lake City, Omaha, Sacramento and Portland. The research looked at home appreciation, low unemployment rates and strong income growth. Denver saw home values rise 16% in 2015 with predictions on another 5% in 2016

Got some cash? You’re going to need it to compete. According to the Seattle Business Journal two-thirds of home buyers purchasing high-end homes in 2014 paid cash. Out of that number 39% of buyers were from overseas and primarily China. Many buyers were business owners and 10% were athletes or entertainers.

2007 was the year of aggressive home sales but in 2015, those highs are no longer relevant. Last year alone there were over 88,000 homes sold resulting in an over 14% gain over 2014. According the Northwest Multiple Listing Service for the Puget Sound, there were 75,975 single family homes and 12,356 condos or multi-family style properties valued at $34 billion. That’s 23% higher than in 2014.

The Global Innovation Exchange will increase Seattle’s influence in China according to University of Washington president Ana Marie Cauce. With more trade opportunities opening up every day between Washington state and China, this new technology graduate program will be the first of its kind similar to China’s version of MIT. This will help establish the Seattle area as one of the world’s most consequential economics.

Avana 522, acquired by Greystar in 2012 for $91.3 million has recently been sold for $143.3 million, a 57% increase in just over three years. The property was acquired by Chicago-based LivCor Multifamily Asset Management from Greystar, currently the largest apartment company in the country with around 410,000 rental units.

According to Washington state’s top tech trade group, the Seattle and Puget Sound area as more software engineers than the San Francisco bay area. The Madrona Venture Group in addition to the Washington Technology Industry Association has released the 2015 Seattle Tech Universe map, which describes the relationship between technology companies in the Puget Sound region and the San Francisco bay area. This map shows over 600 companies including Microsoft, Amazon and the University of Washington, which are among some of the largest instigators of growth in the Puget Sound. Over the last eight years, nearly $60 billion has been invested in Washington tech companies, creating more than $450 billion in wealth covering mergers and acquisitions.

In a recent article of the Puget Sound Business Journal, homeowners who sold their home in King County (Seattle) received an average of 48% gain over the original purchase price as of October, 2015. This puts King County near the top of the 127 US counties reported by RealtyTrac. Only six other counties surpassed King County in the average increased; most found in California.

Based on ZIP Codes and the percentage of people with advanced degrees, the Puget Sound Business Journal has ranked the best educated neighborhoods in Seattle, and they’re not all of the Seattle area either. Based on this criteria, Pullman actually had a higher percentage of advanced degrees then Bellevue due to Washington State University. Seattle’s University district was also high on the list for similar reasons.